Why I am standing for Labour in Cities of London and Westminster

posted : May 11, 2017

My name is Ibrahim Dogus and I’m standing as the Labour candidate in Cities of London and Westminster at the general election.

After coming to London at the age of 14 with my family as political refugees from Turkey, I now run five successful small businesses and 4 charitable organisations in the heart of the city and employ over 60 people.

London has shown my family immense kindness and support. Thanks to our schools, I learned the skills to set up my business, while the dedicated doctors and nurses of the NHS saved my life.

So, I’m now standing as the Labour candidate to protect our public services from further Tory cuts and to give something back to the society that helped me so much.

I am a community leader who has worked for more than 20 years to foster better integration, particularly among the many different ethnic minorities in the capital.

I have also raised funds to set up and run football leagues to reach out to disadvantaged young people as a way of tackling anti-social behaviour, crime and drug addiction.

My background in business, charity work and community organising has given me extensive experience of the problems we face in this city.

Under the Tories, waiting times at the A&E units of our local hospitals and for elective surgery have soared. I will stand up for local residents to protect our NHS and work to cut those unacceptable delays.

The chance of finding an affordable place to live is a distant dream for many of our young people. I will work with housing chiefs to deliver more affordable homes to rent and buy for local people.

Our schools are under increasing pressure. Under Labour’s fully costed policies, there will be an extra £3 billion to fill the Tories’ spending black hole.

I will fight to get the best possible Brexit deal and battle against any Tory plans to cut people’s pensions.

Air pollution is a growing problem here in the heart of the city. I will work with London Mayor Sadiq Khan to make our air cleaner and our streets greener and safer.

I will hold regular surgeries and be an accountable, accessible and hard-working MP for is your local champion.

I will fight the corner of everyone in Cities of London and Westminster – not just the wealthy and the privileged few.